Maria Sakkari is set to exit the top-10 for the first time in two and a half years after suffering a devastating Doha loss and picking up her eighth consecutive loss against top-30 players.
As the seventh seed in Doha, Sakkari had a first-round bye. After a first-round bye, Sakkari made a strong start against world No. 28 Linda Noskova but then blew a big lead as the 19-year-old Czech came back to upset the Greek 3-6 7-6 (2) 7-5.
For Sakkari, who entered this week as the ninth-ranked player in the world, it was her eighth consecutive loss against a top-30 player – the most negative streak against top-30 players of her career, via OptaAce.
8- Maria Sakkari has registered her 8th consecutive loss against a top-30 opponent, it is her longest losing run against such opponents in her career. Fall. #QatarTotalEnergiesOpen | @QatarTennis @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/lP8MZIbpZY
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) February 13, 2024
Also, Sakkari – who made the Doha semifinal last year – is set to drop points and slump out of the top-10 on Monday. For Sakkari, this will be the first time that she is exiting the top-10 since entering it in 2021 September.
Maria Sakkari© Getty Images Sport – Julian Finney
Sakkari missed out on a match point against Noskova
Sakkari got off to an outstanding start to the match, earning back-to-back breaks for an early and comfortable 4-0 lead. Noskova didn’t quit, getting one break back in the fifth game and saving two consecutive break points in the sixth game to further cut the deficit to 2-4. But Sakkari didn’t allow Noskova to make a big comeback in the first set as the Greek held on to her second break to seal the opener.
After winning the first set, Sakkari also broke Noskova in the first game of the second set and served out her next four service games for a 5-3 lead. Just when it seemed that Sakkari would clinch a routine straight-set win over Noskova, the Greek missed out on a match point on the Czech’s serve in the ninth game before also failing to serve out for the match in the 10th game.
Maria Sakkari© Getty Images Sport – Christopher Pike
After saving a match point and forcing a second-set tie-break, Noskova started the tie-break with a 5-0 lead before converting her first set point to send the match into a decider.
In the second set, no breaks were seen until the 11th game – when Noskova broke Sakkari for a 6-5 lead. With a chance to serve out for the match, Noskova got the job done to complete a major comeback win over Sakkari.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login